Flat Jake in Ontario

This is the continuing adventures of Flat Jake, AKA “Flatty,” told by Ontario Host Janis Stewart:

Ontario was a very short visit but oh so sweet!

Flatty arrived in Wiarton at 10:30 AM on Wednesday May 27, 2009, for a short, whirlwind visit with Gord and Janis Stewart. He was so tired after his trip all the way across the Atlantic Ocean from Spain that he curled up with Holly, our cat, and had a little nap. It was pouring rain all day here and good napping weather.

Flatty did get up in the afternoon to inspect one of the quilts that I am working on for a customer in my studio at Quilts Unlimited. I was not running the computerized machine today as we get severe electrical storms and power interruptions so I did not want to risk having problems especially as I am working on a very fancy quilt on that machine for another customer which will go in a quilt show on June 12th and a quilt competition in September.

My husband, Gord, drives a school bus and enjoyed showing it to Flatty. We took Flatty for a drive into Wiarton to meet Wiarton Willie but Willie was hiding in his den. So, instead, we took some photos of Flatty at the Wiarton Willie statue. It was so foggy from the rain that you couldn’t see the water in the Bay. Wiarton Willie is our town’s albino (white) groundhog. They make sure he gets out on Ground Hog Day, February 2, to check if we’re going to have an extra 6 weeks of winter This year, he didn’t see his shadow…..so that meant 6 more weeks of winter!

Flatty helped me make some rhubarb pies. Yum! Do you eat rhubarb pies in High Ridge? They are so good, both sweet and tart at the same time. Rhubarb is a vegetable with long red stalks (that looks kind of like long, red celery) that are cut in small pieces and cooked although I remember eating them raw when I was young like Flatty. They are very sour though, and you really need to add sugar to sweeten them up.

Flatty arrived too late to go to my quilting group which meets every Tuesday evening at the local Quilt Shop. I think Flatty might have been a little bored at our meeting, but he certainly would have received lots of attention and heard lots of laughter and fun. He also missed going hiking with me on Monday when I hiked along the shore of Georgian Bay with two good friends and found a piece of driftwood that made an excellent new walking stick. But, he did arrive right in the middle of hockey play-offs and watched “Hockey Night in Canada” with Gord. Gord was going to take his classic truck to the first Cruise Night of the season tonight, but the rainy weather changed his plans, and he watched the hockey game instead.

I will tuck Flatty into bed early tonight because he will need to get up very early tomorrow morning to begin his trip home to High Ridge and Fenton. He will be taking a very fast trip home from Canada via UPS (United Parcel Service) and is scheduled to arrive at school Friday morning (May 29). Although his stay was very short, we sure are happy that he made it here as part of his big adventure. If he ever wants to visit again, perhaps we can give him a tour on the motorcycle, take him for a hike on the Bruce Trail, and maybe even a ride in an ultra-light aircraft to see our beautiful views from the air. We send “Greetings from Canada” home with Flatty to all of his classmates in Mrs. Owen’s class at Brennan Woods Elementary School and wish all of you a safe and happy summer.

Janet Stewart